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Fasting
The Blessings of the Month of Ramadan
Hadrat Salman (may Allah be pleased with him) reports "On the last day of Sha'ban, Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) addressed us and said: 'O people, there comes over you now a great month, a most blessed month in which lies a night more greater in virtue than one thousand months. It is a month in which Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) has made compulsory that the days should be observed by fasting. And he has made Sunnah the Taraweh by night. Whosoever intends drawing nearer to Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) by performing any virtuous deed, for him shall be the reward like him who had performed fardh at any other time. And whoever performs fardh, for him shall be the reward of seventy fardh in any other time. This is indeed the month of patience, and the reward for true patience is (Paradise). It is the month of sympathy with one's fellowmen. It is the month wherein a true believer's rizq (sustenance) is increased. Whosoever feeds another who fasted, in order to break the fast (at sunset), for him shall be forgiveness for his sins and emancipation from the fire of Hell and for him shall be the same reward as for him (who he fed) without that person's reward being decreased in the least."
Thereupon we said: "O Messenger of Allah, not all of us possess the means whereby we can give a fasting person to break his fast." The Messenger of Allah replied: 'Allah grants the same reward to him who gives a fasting person to break the fast a mere date or a drink of water or a sip of milk."
'This is a month, the first of which brings Allah's Mercy, the middle of which brings His forgiveness and the last of which brings emancipation from the fire of Hell.'
'Whosoever lessens the burden of His servants (bondsmen) in this month, Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) will forgive him and free him from the fire of Hell. "
And in this month four things you should continue to perform in great number, two of which shall be to please your Lord while the other two shall be those without which you cannot do. Those which shall be to please your Lord, are that you should in great number bear witness that there is no deity to worship except Allah (i.e. recite the Kalima Tayyibah: La Ilaaha Illallah and make much Istighfar (beg Allah's forgiveness with Astaghfirullah)." And as for those without which you cannot do, you should beg of Allah entrance into Paradise and seek refuge in Him from Hell."*
"And whoever gave a person who fasted, water to drink, Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) will give him water from the Houdh (pond) whereafter he shall never again feel thirsty until he enters Paradise." (Khuzaimah)
*The complete Tasbeeh becomes:
Ash-hadu An-Laa Ilaaha Illallah Nastagfirullah.
Nasalukal Jannata Ilahi Wanauzubika Minannaar.
When to begin and end Fasting
Hadrat Abdallah bin Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Apostle (May the blessings of Allah be with him) referring to Ramadan, declared: Do not begin to fast until you have seen the crescent and do not leave the fasts until you see it, and if there are clouds, complete 30 days. (Malik)
Fasting and Qur'an are Intercessors
Hadrat Abdullah bin Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) said: Fasting and the Qur'an will intercede for a man. Fasting will say: O Lord! I denied him food and sexual satisfaction during day time. So make me an intercessor for him. And the Qur'an will say: I denied him sleep during night. So make me an intercessor for him. So they will both intercede. (Baihaqi)
Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) will reward the Fasting Person
Narrated Hadrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) said, "Fasting is a shield (or a screen or a shelter). So, the person observing fast should avoid sexual relations with his wife and should not behave foolishly and impudently, and if somebody fights with him or abuses him, he should tell him twice, "I am fasting." The Prophet (May the blessings of Allah be with him) added, "By Him in Whose Hands my soul is, the smell coming out from the mouth of a fasting person is better in the sight of Allah (The Glorified and the Exalted) than the smell of musk. (Allah says about the fasting person), "He has left his food, drink and desires for My sake. The fast is for Me. So I will reward (the fasting person) for it and the reward of good deeds is multiplied ten times." (Bukhari).(Hadith Qudsi)
Give up Evil Actions
Narrated Hadrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him). Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) said, "Whoever does not give up forged speech and evil actions, Allah is not in need of his leaving food and drink (i.e. Allah will not accept his fasting)." (Bukhari)
Suhur
Hadrat Anas (Rady Allahu Anhu) reported that Allah's Messenger (Sallallahu 'alayhi wa Sallam) said: Take suhur (pre-dawn meal) because in it there is blessing. (Bukhari and Muslim)
Break the Fast when the Sun sets
Hadrat Sahl bin Sa'd Saidi (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) having said: "The people will always continue to be better (in their faith) as long as they break their fasts early." (that is, as soon as the sun sets). (Malik)
Eating and drinking forgetfully
Hadrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) said: Whoever forgets while he was fasting and eats or drinks, let him complete his fast because Allah has fed him and given him drink. (Bukhari and Muslim)
Fasting on someone's behalf
Nararted mother of faithful believers, Hadrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) said, "Whoever died and he ought to have fasted (the missed days of Ramadan) then his guardians must fast on his behalf." (Bukhari)
Fasting on a Journey
Narrated Hadrat Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him). We used to travel with the Prophet (May the blessings of Allah be with him) and neither did the fasting persons criticize those who were not fasting, nor did those who were not fasting criticize the fasting ones. (Bukhari)
Embracing one's spouse while fasting
Hadrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a man asked the Prophet (May the blessings of Allah be with him) about physical embrace of a fasting man (with his wife). He gave him permission. Another came to him and asked him but he prohibited him. The person whom he gave permission was an old man, and the person whom he prohibited was a youth. (Abu Dawud)
The Reward of praying at night
Narrated Hadrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him): I heard Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) saying regarding Ramadan, "Whoever prayed at night in it (the month of Ramadan) out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven and whoever stood for the prayers in the night of Qadr out of sincere Faith and hoping for a reward from Allah, then all his previous sins will be forgiven." (Bukhari)
Taraweh Prayers
Abd al-Rahman bin Abd al-Qadri reported: I went with Sayyidina Umar bin al-Khattab (may Allah be pleased with him) to the mosque in Ramadan and saw people saying the taraweh in different groups. Someone was saying it alone and with another was a group of eight to ten men. Sayyidina Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "By Lord, I feel that if I could put them all behind one qari it would be well." He then grouped them all behind Hadrat Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him). Abd al-Rahman said: When I went with him the next night, I saw that all the people were saying their prayer behind Hadrat Ubayy bin Ka'b (may Allah be pleased with him). Sayyidina Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) said: This is a good innovation. The time of sleep - the later part of the night - is better than when you say your prayer in the earlier part of the night, and people used to gather in the earlier part of the night. (Malik)
Optional Fasts
Mother of faithful believers, Hadrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her) reported that Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) used to keep fast on Monday and Thursday (in months other than Ramadan). (Tirmidhi, an-Nasai)
Fasting Six Days of Shawwal
Hadrat Abu Ayyub al-Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that the Prophet (May the blessings of Allah be with him) said: Whoever fasts Ramadan and them makes it to follow the six days of Shawwal (after Eid), it becomes like the fasting of the whole year. (Muslim)
Kaffara for breaking Fast
Hadrat Sa'id bin al-Musayyab (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that a rustic came to Allah's Apostle (May the blessings of Allah be with him) beating his breast and pulling at his hair and he was saying: Death to him who is far from righteousness! The Messenger of Allah asked him what the matter was. He said: I had intercourse with my wife during the fast of Ramadan. The Messenger of Allah (May the blessings of Allah be with him) asked him whether he could free a slave. He said: No. He asked whether he could send a camel or a cow for sacrifice at the Hajj. He said: No. He (the Prophet) asked him to sit. Just then a basket of dates came to Allah's Apostle (May the blessings of Allah be with him). He said: Take these and give them away in charity. He answered: Messenger of Allah, there is none more needy than myself. He (the Prophet) asked him to eat them himself and observe fast for a day in lieu of what he had done. (Malik)
The Fast of the Prophet (May the blessings of Allah be with him)
Hadrat Abu Huraira (may Allah be pleased with him) reported that Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) declared: Avoid keeping continuous fasts. The people said: Messenger of Allah, but you fast continuously. Then he replied: I am not like you. My Lord provides me with food and drink at night. (Malik)
The Prophet's (May the blessings of Allah be with him) itikaf and search for Lailatul Qadr Narrated Abu Salama: Once I went to Hadrat Abu Sa'id Al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) and asked him, "Won't you come with us to the date-palm trees to have a talk?" So Hadrat Abu Sa'id (may Allah be pleased with him) went out and I asked him, "Tell me what you heard from the Prophet (May the blessings of Allah be with him) about the Night of Qadr." Hadrat Abu Sa'id replied, "Once Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him) performed l'tikaf (seclusion) on the first ten days of the month of Ramadan and we did the same with him. Hadrat Jibril (peace be upon him) came to him and said, 'The night you are looking for is ahead of you.' So the Prophet (May the blessings of Allah be with him) performed the l'tikaf in the middle (second) ten days of the month of Ramadan and we performed l'tikaf with him. Hadrat Jibril (peace be upon him) came to him and said, 'The night which you are looking for is ahead of you.' In the morning of the 20th of Ramadan the Prophet (May the blessings of Allah be with him) delivered a sermon saying, 'Whoever has peformed l'tikaf with me should continue it. I have been shown the Night of "Qadr", but have forgetten its date, but it is in the odd nights of the last ten nights. I saw in my dream that I was prostrating in mud and water.' In those days the roof of the mosque was made of branches of date-palm trees. At that time the sky was clear and no cloud was visible, but suddenly a cloud came and it rained. The Prophet (May the blessings of Allah be with him) led us in the prayer and I saw the traces of mud on the forehead and on the nose of Allah's Messenger (May the blessings of Allah be with him). So it was the confirmation of that dream." (Bukhari)